Stories about People

Hayley King

Hi I'm Hayley.

I completed the Counselling Psychology Masters Program in November 2000, which I completed full time, and since then I have rarely been out of work. After completing the Masters I was employed to do research in the community with people with disabilities before obtaining full time work with the Department of Justice. Initially this involved working with adult offenders in the prisons and now I'm in the Juvenile Justice area working with young offenders, predominantly in detention.

I love the work I do; it's both varied and challenging. The team operates from a purely psychological model with Masters trained psychologists, which provides a very supportive work environment. The work ranges from conducting assessments for risk of suicide and self- harm, counselling needs, court reports and completing the counselling required for rehabilitation. It also allows psychologists to be involved in staff recruitment, training and support.

If you'd suggested at the beginning of the Masters that I'd be working with offenders and/ or adolescents I wouldn't have believed it. It was a new area for me and well and truly outside of my comfort zone. However by remaining open to opportunities and trying out placements in areas that I thought would be difficult, I discovered a new area of interest. People sometimes question whether the Counselling Psychology Masters is the right one to choose. For me it was a good choice, the course equipped me well to work in what I think are challenging areas and I believe Counselling Psychologists are well recognised in the Community. I've also been fortunate to receive excellent ongoing supervision from Curtin and now I'm halfway through completing the Specialist Title.

Hayley King
Counselling Psychologist (Registrar)